Coronavirus means Australians are not allowed to travel overseas. Since March, only about third of the special requests to leave the country have been granted.
History will be made when the federal parliament commences its first “hybrid” sitting in the fortnight starting next week, with some members connecting virtually.
Electrocardiograms are a common tool used by GPs to spot heart problems, and every medical student is trained to interpret one. Yet the government plans to remove Medicare funding for GPs to do this.
The Royal Commission into Aged Care declared older people and their families were left “isolated and powerless”. COVID-19 has provided a tragic real-time vindication of the commission’s observation.
New funding aims to fend off a wave of mental ill-health in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. We don’t know how severe that wave will be, but we do know financial hardship is a huge risk factor.
Greg Hunt is set to become the lead ministerial face of the sales effort for the proposed controversial new COVID-19 tracing app, aided by the government’s health professionals.
Private hospitals will be on the frontline in the coronavirus battle, under an arrangement with the federal government that makes available the sector’s more than 30,000 beds and 105,000 workforce.
Yes, 86% of GP visits were bulk-billed in 2017-18, up from 82% when Labor was in power. But they also rose under Labor, while the percentage for “patients” seems to be lower than the percentage for “visits”.
It’s been another colourful week in federal politics, highlighted by Greg Hunt’s swearing, the Barnaby Joyce saga taking yet another turn, and One Nation falling apart at the seams.
A plan to fine hospitals for avoidable hospitalisations and pay GPs to prevent them has many issues. The main problem is that it’s impossible to measure the outcomes of health care in Australia.
It is obviously important to protect the institutional integrity and independence of the judiciary – but the judiciary and judicial decisions should not be immune from criticism.
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt has asked the Medicare review taskforce to consider increasing the number of subsidised mental health sessions for those with eating disorders. Why is that necessary?
Sussan Ley launched a series of major reviews of health spending programs. The proposals from these reviews are now on the table, and Greg Hunt will have a series of difficult tasks in implementation.
Political engagement in Australia has changed enormously over the past decade. New organisations such as GetUp! have taken the lead in channelling citizen voice into politics.